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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What do Triton, Mr. Salgado, and others in the neighborhood hear coming from house number eight?
(a) Beautiful singing.
(b) Piercing screams.
(c) Loud music.
(d) Terrible howl.

2. Where does the cashier invite the narrator to?
(a) The deli.
(b) The office.
(c) The coffee shop.
(d) The garage.

3. After recording information about his car, what does the narrator do?
(a) Takes his old battery in for recycling.
(b) Closes his cans of paint.
(c) Waxes his car.
(d) Goes to pay for the gasoline.

4. Why does Triton seek refuge in the kitchen?
(a) It reminds him of the times he helps his mother in the kitchen.
(b) It's the only room in the house with a door that locks.
(c) Joseph does not go in there when onions are being prepared.
(d) He has a secret hiding place behind the kitchen pantry.

5. What is the narrator doing as the story opens?
(a) Replacing the battery of his car.
(b) Painting his car.
(c) Filling the tank of his car.
(d) Washing his car.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the word "kolla" mean in Sinhala?

2. Meticulous when it comes to creating lists, what does the narrator log after servicing his car?

3. When it starts to rain, Triton hopes that Joseph ____.

4. What does Triton say when Mr. Salgado asks him if he has any schooling?

5. How does Joseph feel and act towards Triton?

Short Essay Questions

1. At the end of the first section, what does the narrator begin to talk about with the gas station cashier?

2. Describe the relationship between Triton and Joseph.

3. The narrator speaks with a gas station cashier. How experienced is the cashier with his job?

4. When Mr. Salgado leaves for a weekend trip to his cousin's tea estate, what additional responsibilities does he give Triton?

5. Who is the narrator of the story?

6. What happens when Mr. Salgado returns home from his trip to the tea estate?

7. Through which character does the author choose to reveal the changing sociopolitical landscape of Sri Lanka across many decades?

8. When he is a boy, why does Triton regard Mr. Salgado's house as the "center of the universe"?

9. Describe the relationship between Triton and Mr. Salgado.

10. In the opening scene, what kind of trouble does the cashier experience?

(see the answer keys)

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